Money and Currency Details on Egypt Tour

Money and Exchange Rates

The unit of currency is the Egyptian pound (E£) and the notes are 1 (brown), 5 (blue), 10 (red), 20 (green), 50 (red) and 100 pounds (green). The pound is divided into 100 piasters and there are 50 piaster, 25 piaster and 10 piaster notes. The notes have Arabic notation on one side and western numerals on the other, so it is easy to get the hang of using them. The E£50 note is a problem because of some attempts to forge them and the E£100 note is rarely used.

There are some coins of 5 piaster (pt), 10pt, 20pt, 25pt and 50pt; and some 25pt coins have a hole in the middle.

There are plenty of ATMs in Cairo in banks and major hotels - the big shopping areas in the smaller cities (especially in the Egypt tour areas) also have them.

In practice many vendors won't accept bigger notes (E£20 upwards) because of shortage of change - some vendors offer sweets in lieu of coins as small change and others others round the prices - it's a good idea to hoard the coins and small-value notes for tips, fares and small purchases.

One problem with the notes is that some of them are worn and ragged to the point that merchants will refuse to accept them - so there is a small game to avoid receiving them as change. Just give them back politely and ask for a newer note.

The exchange rates at the main Egyptian banks and the private money changers vary a little, so if you are changing a lot of money then it could be worth while shopping about for the most favourable rate. In most smaller towns there are not a lot of change bureaus so it doesn't matter.

The bureaus offer quicker service than the banks and they are open longer hours, but the rates could be lower than the banks. Each bureau sets own exchange rates so shop around and you could get a much better rate than the bank is offering. There isn't a separate commission charge - it's included in to the exchange rate.

When arriving in Egypt it is a good idea to have three days worth of cash, within the constraint that it is illegal to import or export more than E£1000 in local currency. Aside from day to day spending, cash will be required for visas and border taxes. The airports have bank kiosks open round the clock offering normal rates, so you can change money when you arrive. But if you have Egyptian currency left over when you come to leave, there always seem to be problems changing it into international currencies. Rather than going through the pain of it all, it is better to plan to run down your local currency for the last days before you leave.

Costs
Egypt can be a very economical country to visit if you're prepared to stay in cheap hotels and eat local vendors' food. The biggest expenses for travellers in Egypt are entry into tourist sites and transport. Generally, providing you avoid luxury hotels and tourist-only services, the cost of food, accommodation and transport is low by European standards. If you limit what you spend by seeking out bargains on historic site deals and travel by trains, then it could be possible to see the country for less than Au$25.00 a day.

Pickpockets and Scams
Pickpockets do operate around the areas frequented by tourists, so be aware and don't carry a bulging wallet in your hip pocket. The best strategy is to carry your valuables discreetly and to be aware of what people are doing around you - be cautious at all times and be very wary of any offers that seem too good to be true.

Charges and Taxes
Egypt does not have a value-added tax, but there is a general service charge of 12% applied in most restaurants and hotels, as well as a sales tax of 7% - then in the better class hotels there is possibility of a further 4% tax on accommodation - so it is possible to find that 25% has been added to the price you expected to pay.